Why Women Have Trouble With Self-Confidence...

By Colette Dowling, LMSW

Women actually learn low self-confidence; they're trained for it. Studies show that girls--especially smarter ones--have severe problems with self-confidence. They consistently underestimate their own ability.

Screening For Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol-Related Problems in College Populations

New-found independence can sometimes be dangerous: Alcohol use and abuse among college students is a serious cause for concern. Many students are under the legal drinking age and many engage in heavy episodic, or binge, drinking. There are a variety of simple screening methods that can help identify those students at greatest risk for alcohol problems so that preventative steps can be taken before it's too late.

Don’t Let the Fear of Screwing Up Your Kids Screw You Up As A Parent

By Mitchell Milch, MSW

Let’s face it, we all want to avoid making the same mistakes raising our kids we believe our parents or surrogate parents made raising us. This is especially the case when we still hold grudges toward parents for what has or has not become of us.

Depression in the Teen Years

Before adolescence, there is little difference in the rate of depression in boys and girls. But between the ages of 11 and 13 there is a precipitous rise in depression rates for girls. By the age of 15, females are twice as likely to have experienced a major depressive episode as males.

10 Things Every Parent Should Know to Help Keep Their Teens Safe

By Linda Laffey, MFT

The adolescent brain is changing, beginning to think abstractly for the first time. Abstract thinking is a requirement for problem solving, and teens need to master this skill to make it in the adult world. This evolution to abstract thinking helps explain why teens now challenge their parents’ opinions, limits and rules, why they turn more to their peers for advice, and why they separate physically and emotionally from their parents.

The Last Straw: How to Reach Your Teen When You Feel You've Tried Everything

By Darin Geiger, M.A.

The key to helping struggling teens is early intervention. Early intervention requires taking action and getting to the root of your teen's problem. If you feel like the situation is at an impasse, help from an outside source, such as a therapist, may be necessary.

A Kink In The Hose

By Judy Martin, MFT

Throughout the years of parenting my difficult oldest daughter, overdoing and sacrifice have been a means of convincing myself that I’m a good mother and a good person...But I've come to realize that my deeply ingrained beliefs about the inappropriateness of selfishness have too often caused me to trade my own happiness for my daughter’s.

Study Finds One in Five Teen Girls Has Suffered Abuse From a Boyfriend...

Teen girls who are physically or sexually abused by their boyfriends are at a much higher risk of suffering other serious medical and emotional health problems as well. They're more likely to use and abuse drugs or alcohol, to have unsafe sex, to acquire eating disorders, to become pregnant--and a high school-aged girl who is the victim of dating violence is also more likely to make a serious suicide attempt.

Dealing with Empty Nest Syndrome

By Diane Laney Fitzpatrick & including an interview with Lana Ackaway

Just when you feel you've perfected parenting for all stages of childhood, from infancy through the teen years, you’ll find yourself without an audience. How you handle your empty nest, once you become a parent of grown children, will depend on how well you prepared yourself and your children for that newest stage of your family's life.

Helping Your Kids Say "No" to Marijuana—Even If You Didn’t

If your child asks whether you ever used marijuana and your honest answer is "yes," you don’t have to provide a graphically detailed account. Instead, use your child’s curiosity about your personal history as an opportunity to talk about questions and concerns they may be having about marijuana, as well as the use and abuse of other drugs and substances.

The Compelling Power of Cliques

Ideally, belonging to a set group of friends or "clique" can help a teen feel capable, cool and in control. Sometimes, however, the power of social cliques casts a dark shadow.

Understanding the Need to Say "NO" to Your Children

By Jill MacDonald, MA, LPC

I don’t know anyone who would say they enjoy hearing the word “NO.” And children especially dislike it. However, as a therapist and parent I know that saying (and hearing) “no” is a vital and positive part of our lives.

Getting Kids to Listen

by Dr. Marge Blaine

Problems with kids fall into a number of categories. These include difficulties with homework, siblings, and household chores. Homework often presents the greatest source of conflict, but is often easiest to solve.

As Community Members, What Can We Do To Help Prevent School Violence?

As a result of recent school violence tragedies, fear of youth crime has skyrocketed and wondering just what can be done to help has left many of us in a quandary...The best thing each and every one of us can do to strengthen the lives of our community's children--even those of us who don't have kids of our own or whose kids are no longer of school age--is to make sure we find ways to offer real and tangible evidence that we care.

Marijuana Facts For Teens

Get answers to some of the questions about marijuana most commonly asked by teens, including what are the short- and long-term effects of using marijuana; what effect does it have on regular activities, such as driving, studying, and sports; what does using marijuana do to the brain and to the body; how addictive is it; and what can you do to get help if you want to stop using.

Link Between Teen Smoking and Anxiety Disorders

Can smoking directly affect emotional health? A recent study offers evidence of an association between cigarette smoking during the teen years and developing anxiety disorders during adolescence and early adulthood.

Helping Kids Navigate Their Teenage Years: When Parents Need Help First

Parents can do much to help their teenage sons or daughters through a variety of difficult situations. Depression, violence, substance abuse, and bullying are all serious issues that parents and teens can work together to help resolve. Sometimes, however, parents need to confront their own problems before they can help their teenager.

Students: Are You Concerned That a Friend's Recent "Down" Behavior Might Be Depression?

The high school and college years can be complicated and demanding. So, it isn't surprising that from time to time you or one of your friends feels "down" or discouraged. But what about those times when a friend's behavior and outlook on life seems to remain depressed for weeks?

How Teachers Can Help Kids Cope With Traumatic Events

By Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D.

It's appropriate to talk about the recent terrorist attacks and the aftermath of grief and confusion in the classroom. But it's not appropriate to turn each class into an unstructured group therapy session. There should be open, honest, and accurate discussion in classes that is directed and contained by the teacher. Once this initial period of grief has subsided, try to keep discussions focused on aspects relevant to the content of your curriculum.

How to Tell If It's Anorexia

Tabloids detailing the lives of celebrities--as well as many of the more private and unpublished stories about those in our communities, our families, and even ourselves--continue to highlight the persistent and dangerous prevalence of anorexia. The most noticeable features of anorexia are a progressively drastic loss in weight, and changes in behavior that become obsessional.

Prescription Painkiller Abuse on the Rise With Teens

According to a newly-released national study, today's teens are more likely to abuse a prescription painkiller or other prescription medication as a means of getting high than they are to experiment with illegal drugs.

Club Drugs Aren't "Fun Drugs"

By Alan I. Leshner, Ph.D.

"Raves" or all-night dance parties continue to attract teens and young adults who may think Ecstasy, GHB, Rohypnol, and other club drugs are harmless. While researchers continue to study club drugs with a sense of urgency, treatment and prevention strategies are being developed. The bottom line is simple: even experimenting with club drugs is an unpredictable and dangerous thing to do.

Kids in a Difficult World...

Arguments are waged as to the management of children who attempt suicide, commit crimes or even those who are abandoned and neglected. Our society has impoverished resources to answer such questions and while some hospitals are available, all too often the answer is prison. Research has demonstrated, however, that children do not need to be hospitalized or incarcerated to get the help they need.

Psychiatric Disorders Common Among Detained Youth

Among teens in juvenile detention, nearly two thirds of boys and nearly three quarters of girls have at least one psychiatric disorder, a federally funded study has found. These rates dwarf the estimated 15 percent of youth in the general population thought to have psychiatric illness, placing detained teens on a par with those at highest risk, such as maltreated and runaway youth.

Preventative Therapy During and After Divorce Can Help Protect Young Kids and Teens

About 1.5 million young kids and teens experience the divorce of their parents each year--ultimately 40 percent of the nation’s children. While most adapt well, a significant percentage are especially vulnerable to developing mental health problems, suffering impaired educational attainment, and experiencing difficulties later on in life with socioeconomic and family well-being.

New Report Finds More Than 13% of America’s Teens Think Suicide

According to a just-released government survey--the first of its kind ever done--three million American teenagers have thought seriously about or even attempted suicide. Depression--a treatable condition--is considered the main cause of suicidal thoughts. Only 36% of the teens who considered suicide in 2000 received mental health treatment or counseling…

Explanation of IQ Tests

By Dr. William Ralph

Standard IQ tests attempt to sample a rather large number of intellectual functions. Each one of these samplings is called a subtest. The final IQ score is an average of the subtest scores. Consequently, a person may score very high on some subtests and quite poorly on others while still receiving an average overall score. This is one reason that a simple IQ score can paint a very misleading picture of the person's true intellectual functioning.

It’s Twice as Strong Today…

Even if you experimented with pot when you were younger, there’s nothing hypocritical about trying to keep your kids off of it now. Reliable and consistent evidence indicates today’s marijuana is more than twice as powerful on average than it was twenty years ago. With twice the concentration of THC, marijuana is now capable of causing double the damage.

Young Brains at Risk of Damage from Heavy Drinking

Heavy drinking is especially dangerous for teenagers whose brains are still developing, and alcohol-related damage incurred at a young age can have long-term effects.

Divorce and a Child's Disruptive Behavior

Marital breakup is never easy on anyone. But when parting parents put their child in the middle, work against or undermine each other and compete with one another, they can expect their offspring to suffer emotionally and/or behaviorally. The best predictor of a positive outcome for a kid is when divorcing parents cooperate with each other--at least where their child is concerned.

Negative Peer Pressure: How to Help Kids Say "No" and Still Keep Their Friends

By Sharon Scott, LPC, LMFT

When parents hear the words "peer pressure" their faces usually take on a worried, concerned expression. Many of us tend to have assumptions about the phrase that may or may not be accurate. Parents are encouraged to read this article and take the true-or-false "peer pressure quiz" to gain insight into their up-to-date awareness of this important subject.

Family Support and Good Grades Can Offset Teen Suicide Risks

According to a nationwide study published in the March 2001 issue of Pediatrics that was the result of interviews with more than 13,000 students ages 10 to 19, family support and good grades are among the top factors that can offset risks for teen suicide.

Preventing Destructive Teen Behavior by Harnessing the Power of Their Peers

Tragic events such as school shootings have presented us with images of adolescent aggressive and antisocial behavior. There is a national search for answers. Fortunately, a long-term commitment to basic behavioral research at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is now paying off with the development and implementation of interventions to address these vexing problems.